BCL2 expression in ductal carcinoma of breast and its association with other clinicopathologic variables

Abstract

Breast cancer has now become the most common cancer among Indian females exceeding cervical cancer. Age adjusted incidence rate as high as 25.8 per 100,000 women and mortality 12.7 per 100,000 women. Trends of breast cancer now in India are increasing incidence at younger age group, late stage of presentation, aggressive cancers in the young. Bcl 2-a protooncogene identified in 1984. The protein is found mainly in the periphery of mitochondria, on the perinuclear membrane, and in the endoplasmic reticulum. In our study bcl2 expression in different histologic types of breast carcinoma and correlates we read about its expression with other clinico pathologic variables such as tumour size, histological grade, lymph node status, hormone receptor status and Nottingham prognostic index. :In this study 23.3% (7 out of 30) of the cases showed positivity for bcl2 expression of which all cases were strongly positive. Bcl2 expression was found in 45.5% grade I well differentiated ductal carcinoma,14.3% of Grade II Moderately differentiated ductal carcinomas, all cases of mucinous carcinoma of breast(p-<0.025) Bcl2 and ER/PR status found to have a statistically significant direct correlation with p value<0.004. Hence Bcl2 antagonism in these ER+ tumors might increase the effectiveness of these predominately proapoptotic treatment even more than it does from combination with endocrine therapies. Further development of bcl2 inhibitors has been explored and small molecule inhibitors such as ABT-737 AND ABT-199 have been recently introduced. Emerging evidence also suggests the usefulness of this type of theraphy in breast cancer.